Hager warrant ruled unlawful

The police search on the home of investigative journalist Nicky Hager has been found unlawful by the High Court.

In a judgment released today, Justice Denis Clifford ruled against the way police went about obtaining the search warrant used to search Hager’s home in the hunt for identity of the hacker Rawshark who supplied information for the Dirty Politics book.

Justice Clifford said there was “no explicit reference” in the warrant application put before a district court judge to “Hager’s status as a journalist”, to legal principles around search warrants executed on journalist, to the legal rights journalists had under the Evidence Act or to the way those rights were explained in the Search and Surveillance Act.

He said Parliament would not have intended for a judge to be kept blind to the possibility of journalistic privilege in an application for a search warrant. He said Parliament would also not have intended for a judge to not be informed about the principles which arose as a result.

Justice Clifford said it was important not only for the judge to be aware but for judges, when deciding to grant warrants, to be satisfied police were also aware of the issues and had appropriate steps in place to deal with information on which privilege was claimed.

The result, said Justice Clifford, was “a material failure to discharge the duty of candour” by police.

Basically the Police should have been more fulsome with the Judge. If they had, they may still have got a warrant, but by not disclosing the relevant info, they warrant has been found to be illegal.

A pity that the criminal who did the hacking may never be identified and charged.

Morrissey

You can throw all the puerile adjectives you like, Akaroa, but it doesn’t enhance your credibility one bit.

Instead of composing such oafish putdowns, why don’t you invest a little time in reading some of Nicky Hager’s work? I suggest DIRTY POLITICS would be a good start for you, but there’s a whole lot more, including this one, that reduced Helen Clark and co. to the same level of anger that we see from Key and his cronies at the moment….

Oh Morrissey! Of COURSE politics is dirty! It has ever been thus since the days of the Greek founders of democracy.

Now, I’m not saying that all politicians start out in their political careers as compromisers and position-shifters.

No. I’m sure many politicians who first embrace the thorny tree of political activity, in their altruistic youth or adolescence, are in most cases moved by an intention and a fervent wish to make a better, fairer society for us all.

And good on them,

But i’ll tell you for a fact that it doesn’t take long for ‘reality” – (hah!) – to make itself apparent and for all those altruistic, starry-eyed intentions to undergo severe adjustment in the interests of the maintainance in power of whatever political party or creed is held.

If you think any differently, Morrissey, old sport, I envy you in a way – but on the other hand I feel a bit sorry for you for the revelation that is bound to dawn on you about politics and politicians one fine day!!